Vertical alignment gauge

ABSTRACT

A telescopically adjustable tubular construction for upright arrangement having a central opening in its upper end and permanent magnet means extending laterally from an upper region of the tubular construction for holding engagement with a doorjamb or the like, a standoff member adjacent to a lower region of the tubular construction, a window provided in a lower region of the tubular construction, and plumb bob means suspended interiorly of the tubular construction visually accessible through the window.

United States Patent Petrik 1 1 Feb. 1, 1972 [54] VERTICAL ALIGNMENTGAUGE [72] Inventor: Albert V. Petrik, 2866 Joyce Road,

Roslyn, Pa. 19001 [22] Filed: Oct. 16,1969

[21] Appl. No.2 866,995

[52] US. Cl ..33/216, 33/207, 248/180 ..G01c 15/10 [58] Field of Search..248/206 A, 180, 182, 205, 206; 33/207, 216, 217, 218, 219

[56] References Clted UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,952,745 3/1934 Deasy..33/216 2,184,505 12/1939 Danley ....33/2l6 Morello ..33/207 Digiacinto..33/219 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 255,203 3/1964 Netherlands..33/217 6,501,601 8/1965 Netherlands ..33/217 Primary ExaminerLeonardForman Assistant Examiner-Dennis A. Dearing Attorney-Robert K. Youtie[57] ABSTRACT A telescopically adjustable tubular construction forupright arrangement having a central opening in its upper end andpermanent magnet means extending laterally from an upper region of thetubular construction for holding engagement with a doorjamb or the like,a standoff member adjacent to a lower region of the tubularconstruction, a window provided in a lower region of the tubularconstruction, and plumb bob means suspended interiorly of the tubularconstruction visually accessible through the window.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures VERTICAL ALIGNMENT GAUGE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an important object of thepresent invention to provide a vertical alignment gauge which isespecially well adapted for plumbing construction components, as inreinforced concrete and steel construction but not limited thereto,which device is capable of quick and easy one-man operation even atelevated locations which cannot be reached by the user and whereinprecise verticality is conveniently observable and obtainable even byinexperienced persons, wherein adverse weather conditions, such as highwinds to not affect the ease and accuracy ofoperation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide avertical. alignment gaugeof the type described which is extremelyversatile for usein a wide variety of conditions, and which includesdifferent suspension means for employment under different conditions anduse in different types of construction.

It is still, another object of the present invention to provide avertical alignment gauge having the advantageous characteristicsmentioned in the preceding paragraph, which is extremely simple anddurable in construction, reliable throughout a long useful life, andwhich can be economically manufactured forsale at a reasonable price.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon readingthe following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings,which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope will be indicated by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is an exploded perspective viewshowing a vertical alignment gauge constructed in accordance with theteachings of the present invention, partly broken away to conservedrawing space.

FIG. 2 is a generally horizontal sectional view taken generally alongthe line'22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial exploded top perspective view showing a slightlymodified embodiment of vertical alignment gauge constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the instant alignment gauge in aslightly different condition of use.

FIG. 6 isa transverse sectional view taken generally along the line 6-6of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT member. Suitable means, such as arotative locking collar 16, I

may be provided for releasably holding the tubular members 12 and 13 ina selected position of their relative extension.

The upper tubular member may be formed with a longitudinally coextensivekeyway or groove 14, which opens or faces radially outwardly toward theinner surface of the lower, outer tubular member 12 when received in thelatter. A block or key 15 is located interiorly of the lower, outertubular member 12, in an upper region thereof, and conformably andslidably received in the groove 14. Athreaded stud or pin 17 projectsrigidly from the key 15 radially through and exteriorly of the lowertubular member 12. A resilient strip or springclip 19 is engaged overthe stud l7 and held facing engagement with the exterior of the tubularmember 12, as by a suitable retaining member, such aswingnut 24 threadedon the stud 17, the assembled condition-being best seen in FIGS. 5 and6. Spaced below the spring clip 19, in vertical alignment therewith, maybe a through hole or opening 29 formed in the lower tubular member 12and communicating therethrough with the groove 14 of inner, uppertubular memberj13.

Formed in a lower-region of the lower tubular member 12 is a throughopening or window'20, preferably at an angle .of

about 90? from the upper end-keyway 14 in the assembled condition.Interiorly of the window 20 in the lower tubular member 12 there isprovided a marked plate 21. The marked plate 21 is arranged with onesurface facing toward the window 20 and may extend generallydiametrically across the interior of the tubular member 12, but spacedslightly beyond the axis of the tubular member away from the window. Thesurface of plate 21 facing toward the window 20 is provided with acenter marking or vertical line 22, and is also provided with andadditional m'arking, say a dot 23 slightly spaced laterally from thecenter marking 22 rightward, as seen in FIGS.- 1 and 3.

Depending from-the lower end of the lower tubular member 12, inalignment therewith, is an enlarged hood 25. Just above the hood there.may be provided a collar 26 extending about the lower region of lowermember 12, and formed with a lateral extension or'standoff member 27terminating in an outwardly facing abutment surface 28. The standoffmember 27 projects laterally outwardly diametrically opposite to thedirection of offset of the dot or marking 23 with respect to thecenterline marking 22.

A generally cylindrical magnet member 30 is located coaxially on theupper end region of the upper tubular member 13, having a slottedtubular mo unting'member '39 concentrically received in the upper end oftubular member 13. A pair of upper and lower pole pieces 31 and 32 arerespectively fixedly secured by any suitable means to the upper andlower ends of the cylindrical magnet30, and project laterally therefromoutwardly beyond the tubular construction 11. The cylindrical magnet 30and the upper-and lower pole pieces 31 and 32 are provided with athroughguideway or opening 36 coaxial with the cylindrical magnet member andwith the tubular construction 11. The pole pieces 31 and 32 and cylinder30 thus combine to define a generally horseshoe-shaped magnet fixed tothe upper region of the tubular construction 11. The upper and lowerpole pieces 31 and 32 terminate at their outer ends in respective faces34 and 35 which are coplanar with each other, and also coplanar with theabutment face 28 of standoff member 27. 7

The upper end of the magnet assembly 30-32 may receive through theopening 36 a flexible elongate member or string 37. The elongateflexible member 37 extends from exteriorly of the tubular construction11 downwardly through the guideway 36 entirely through the tubularconstruction 11 to its lower end in the hood 25, where it is secured toa plumb bob 38. The upper end of the elongate element 37 may loopdownward for return to the interior of the tubular construction 11, asthrough an opening or guideway 44 formed through the magnet 30 and polepieces 31 and 32, adjacent to the opening 36. Passing downward throughthe opening 44, the elongate member or flexible line 37, as best seen inFIG. 5, passes beneath the lower end of upper tubular member 13,upwardly within the groove or keyway 14, and extends exteriorly of thetubular construction through the hole 29. With the plumb bob suspendedat a desired location within the hood 25, the opposite, free end of theflexible element 37 may be wound about the tubular member 12 andfrictionally engaged beneath the spring clip 19 for effective retentionthereby. in this condition, the tubular members 12 and 13 may betelescopically extended and contracted without changing the location ofthe plumb bob 38 in the hood 25, the elongate element being configured,as described hereinbefore, to define a running loop takeup.

Pivotally connected to a lower region of the tubular construction 11,say to a lug 40 upstanding from the standoff 27, may be an elongate armor spacer strut 41. That is, the strut mounting lug 40 is on the sameside of the tubular construction 11 as the pole pieces 31 and 32, insubstantial alignment therewith longitudinally of the tubularconstruction; and, the spacer strut 41 is pivotally connected, as by pin43, to the lug 40 for swinging movement between a generally radiallyoutstanding position, shown in FIG. 1, and a retracted position rotatedvertically and parallel to the lower region of the lower tubular member12, shown in FIG. 5. The spacer strut 42 is of a length so as toterminate at its free end 42 a predetermined distance from the axis orcenterline of the tubular construction 11.

Extending laterally outwardly from an upper region of the tubularconstruction 11 is a hanger, generally designated 45. The hanger 45 mayinclude a generally vertically disposed attachment member 46 removablylocated in magnetically held engagement with the extending between theend faces 34 and 35 of pole pieces 31 and 32. That is, the attachmentmember 46 has a generally flat inner face 47 secured in facingengagement with the coplanar end faces of pole pieces 31 and 32. Adepending extension 48 is provided on a lower region of the attachmentmember 46, and formed with an outwardly facing generally planar surface49 which, in the assembled condition of FIG. 1 is coplanar with the polefaces 34 and 35. Thus, the pole faces 34 and 35, outer face 49 ofdepending attachment member extension 48, and abutment surface 28 ofstandoff member 27, are all substantially coplanar with each other, andequidistant from the centerline or axis of the tubular structure 11.

The hanger 45 includes a hanger support 50 which extends obliquelylaterally outwardly and downwardly from a lower region of the attachmentmember 46. The hanger support may include a pintle pin or rod 51, seeFIG. 2, having its inner end fixed to a lower region of the attachmentmember 46, and extending laterally outwardly and downwardly therefrom.in addition, a generally polygonal, substantially coplanar open framemember or lower hanger support element 52 has opposite ends pivotallymounted on the rod 51 for rotation about the axis thereof, for a purposeappearing presently.

Extending rigidly from the attachment member 46, the hanger 45 includesan upper arm 53 which terminates in an outer end face 54 generallycoplanar with the outer end face 42 of spacer strut 41 when the latteris in its outstanding position. That is, the hanger arm 53 extendslaterally outwardly or radially with respect to the tubular construction11, so that it outer end surface 54 is spaced equidistant with the outerend surface 42 of extended space strut 41 from the axis of centerline ofthe tubular construction.

A rigidifying member 55 may extend rigidly from an outer region of theupper hanger arm 53 toward the hanger support 50, and serve to pivotallyreceive and journal an outer region of the hanger support rod 51.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the tubular structure 11a may beidentical to the tubular structure 11, and the magnet means 30a, 31a and32a may be identical to the firstdecribed magnet means 30, 31 and 32.

However, the hanger 45a differs from the hanger 45, in the inclusion ofa generally upright attachment member 46a detachably secured in magneticengagement with the faces of pole pieces 31a and 32a, and having at itsupper end a diagonally laterally outwardly and downwardly hanger support50a. The hanger 45a may be fabricated of a single integral piece ofsheet metal, the attachment 46a being formed integral with and connectedto the hanger support 50a by a curved portion or bend 60. Also, thelower end portion 61 of that attachment member may be deformed to extendobliquely laterally inwardly and downwardly toward the tubularconstruction 11a.

The various modes of operation will now be considered. In the solid linecondition of the alignment gauge shown in FIG. 1, the entire gauge maybe suspended on a Wale, as by resting the hanger support 50 on the upperedge of a wule. The hanger support 50 may slide rearward or leftwarduntil the end face 54 of the hanger arm 53 abuts an upper region of aconcrete form surface. The end face 42 of spacer strut 41 will abut alower region of the concrete form surface; and, as the end faces 54 and42 are equidistant from the centerline of tubular structure 11, thelatter will assume the verticality of the concrete form or wall. Whenthe form or wall is precisely vertical, the elongate element or string37, as viewed through the window 20, will be in registry with themarking 22.

In use for vertical alignment of a thick member, such as a wall,partition, form, tiltup, precast, or the like, the support 50 of thehanger 45 is similarly rested on the upper edge of the thick member, andslides across the thick member until the face 49 of depending extensionengages the face of the thick member. in this mode of operation, thespacer strut 41 is swung upward to its retracted position, and theabutment surface 28 of standoff 27 engages the face of the thick memberat a lower region thereof. As the coplanar surfaces 49 and 28 bothengage the face of the thick member to be plumbed, and are bothequidistant from the centerline of the tubular structure 11, the tubularstructure assumes the verticality of the thick member. Accordingly, whenthe thick member is precisely vertical, the elongate element or string37 will be in registry with the center marking 22.

When the vertical alignment gauge 10 is employed for use in conjunctionwith structural steel, door bucks, metal buildings, and the like, thehanger 45 or 45may be removed from its magnetic engagement with the polepieces 31 and 32. Also, the spacer strut 41 is swung upwardly to itsretracted position. In this condition, the pole faces 34 and 35 arecoplanar with the standoff surface 28, all being equidistant from thecenterline of the tubular structure 11. The gauge 10 may then be placedwith its pole faces 34 and 35 engaging the steel member to be plumbed, alower region of the steel member being in engagement with the standoffsurface 28. Here again,

the precise verticality of the steel member will be indicated byregistry of the elongate element or string 37 with the marking 22.

For use with thin members, such as plywood panels, thin frames, flanges,and the like, the hanger 45a is employed in conjunction with themagnetic pole pieces 31a and 32a, as seen in FIG. 4. The hanger 45a isarranged with its support 50a resting on the upper edge of a thinmember, and the attachment member 46a in facing engagement with the thinmember. The spacer strut 41 is swung upwardly, the lower engagementsurface 28 abuts a lower region of the thin member to be plumbed. Inthis condition, the tubular construction 11 is slightly out of parallelwith respect to the thin member, specifically being out of parallel bythe thickness of attachment member 46a. This thickness may be on theorder of one-eighth inch, and to compensate for this slight out ofparallelism, the window marking 23 is employed. That is preciseverticality of the thin member is indicated when the elongate element orstring 37 is in registry with the marking 23, which is offset from thecenter marking 22 approximately equal to the thickness of attachmentmember 46.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides avertical alignment gauge of extreme versatility in use, and whichotherwise fully accomplishes its intended objects.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by wayof illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, itis understood that certain changes and modifications may be made withinthe spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A vertical alignment gauge comprising a telescopically adjustabletubular construction adapted to be arranged in upright relation, aclosure on the upper end of said tubular construction and having acentral through opening, permanent magnet means extending laterally fromsaid tubular construction adjacent to the upper end thereof andterminating in pole faces spaced predetermined distance from thecenterline of said tubular construction, said pole faces being adaptedfor magnetic holding engagement with a doorjamb or the like, a laterallyextending standoff member on said tubular construction adjacent to thelower end thereof terminating in an abutment face spaced saidpredetermined distance from said centerline for abutting engagement withthe door jamb, a window in the lower region of said tubular constructionand provided with a centerline marking, an elongate flexible elementdepending through said opening interiorly of said tubular constructionand past said window, a plumb bob on the lower end of said flexibleelement, so that vertical alignment of said tubular construction can bedetermined by observation through said window of said flexible elementrelative to said centerline marking, a hanger comprising a generallyvertical attachment member having one side removably secured in magneticengagement with said magnet means, a hanger support extending from saidattachment member laterally outwardly and obliquely downwardly forresting engagement with the upper edge of a supporting member, saidhanger support terminating at its outer end a different predetermineddistance from said centerline and being abuttingly engageable with amember to be plumbed, a spacer strut pivotally connected to said tubularconstruction at a lower region thereof and swingably movable between anonuse position closely along said tubular construction and an operativeposition extending laterally from said tubular construction terminatingat its free end said different predetermined distance from saidcenterline, said spacer strut in its operative position having its freeend engageable with said supporting member to be plumbed for testingverticality of the supporting member, and a depending extension on saidhanger having its laterally outer face generally coplanar with saidmagnetic pole faces for sliding movement of said hanger support acrossan elevated supporting member edge to place said depending extensionwith its outer face against said supporting member.

2. A vertical alignment gauge comprising a telescopicall adjustabletubular construction adapted to be arranged in upright relation, aclosure on the upper end of said tubular construction and having acentral through opening. permanent magnet means extending laterally fromsaid tubular construction adjacent to the upper end thereof andterminating in pole faces spaced a predetermined distance from thecenterline of said tubular construction, said pole faces being adaptedfor magnetic holding engagement with a doorjamb or the like, a laterallyextending standoff member on said tubular construction adjacent to thelower end thereof terminating in an abutment face spaced saidpredetermined distance from said centerline for abutting engagement witthe doorjamb, a window in the lower region of said tubular constructionand provided with a centerline marking, an elongate flexible elementdepending through said opening interiorly of said tubular constructionand past said window, a plum bob on the lower end of -said flexibleelement, so that vertical alignment of said tubular construction can bedetermined by observation through said window of said flexible elementrelative to said centerline marking, a hanger comprising a generallyvertical attachment member having one side removably secured in magneticengagement with said magnet means, a hanger support extending from saidattachment member laterally outwardly and obliquely downwardly forresting engagement with the upper edge of a supporting member or thelike, and a depending extension on said hanger having its laterallyouter face generally coplanar with said magnetic pole faces for slidingmovement of said hanger support across an elevated supporting memberedge to place said depending extension with its outer face against saidsupporting member, said hanger support includinfi a lower hanger supportelement extending laterally outwar y and obliquely downwardly and mountefor pivotal movement about a laterally outwardly and obliquelydownwardly extending axis for firm resting engagement with anonhorizontal supporting member edge.

1. A vertical alignment gauge comprising a telescopically adjustabletubular construction adapted to be arranged in upright relation, aclosure on the upper end of said tubular construction and having acentral through opening, permanent magnet means extending laterally fromsaid tubular construction adjacent to the upper end thereof andterminating in pole faces spaced predetermined distance from thecenterline of said tubular construction, said pole faces being adaptedfor magnetic holding engagement with a doorjamb or the like, a laterallyextending standoff member on said tubular construction adjacent to thelower end thereof terminating in an abutment face spaced saidpredetermined distance from said centerline for abutting engagement withthe door jamb, a window in the lower region of said tubular constructionand provided with a centerline marking, an elongate flexible elementdepending through said opening interiorly of said tubular constructionand past said window, a plumb bob on the lower end of said flexibleelement, so that vertical alignment of said tubular construction can bedetermined by observation through said window of said flexible elementrelative to said centerline marking, a hanger comprising a generallyvertical attachment member having one side removably secured in magneticengagement with said magnet means, a hanger support extending from saidattachment member laterally outwardly and obliquely downwardly forresting engagement with the upper edge of a supporting member, saidhanger support terminating at its outer end a different predetermineddistance from said centerline and being abuttingly engageable with amember to be plumbed, a spacer strut pivotally connected to said tubularconstruction at a lower region thereof and swingably movable between anonuse position closely along said tubular construction and an operativeposition extending laterally from said tubular construction terminatingat its free end said different predetermined distance from saidcenterline, said spacer strut in its operative position having its freeend engageable with said supporting member to be plumbed for testingverticality of the supporting member, and a depending extension on saidhanger having its laterally outer face generally coplanar with saidmagnetic pole faces for sliding movement of said hanger support acrossan elevated supporting member edge to place said depending extensionwith its outer face against said supporting member.
 2. A verticalalignment gauge comprising a telesCopically adjustable tubularconstruction adapted to be arranged in upright relation, a closure onthe upper end of said tubular construction and having a central throughopening, permanent magnet means extending laterally from said tubularconstruction adjacent to the upper end thereof and terminating in polefaces spaced a predetermined distance from the centerline of saidtubular construction, said pole faces being adapted for magnetic holdingengagement with a doorjamb or the like, a laterally extending standoffmember on said tubular construction adjacent to the lower end thereofterminating in an abutment face spaced said predetermined distance fromsaid centerline for abutting engagement wit the doorjamb, a window inthe lower region of said tubular construction and provided with acenterline marking, an elongate flexible element depending through saidopening interiorly of said tubular construction and past said window, aplum bob on the lower end of said flexible element, so that verticalalignment of said tubular construction can be determined by observationthrough said window of said flexible element relative to said centerlinemarking, a hanger comprising a generally vertical attachment memberhaving one side removably secured in magnetic engagement with saidmagnet means, a hanger support extending from said attachment memberlaterally outwardly and obliquely downwardly for resting engagement withthe upper edge of a supporting member or the like, and a dependingextension on said hanger having its laterally outer face generallycoplanar with said magnetic pole faces for sliding movement of saidhanger support across an elevated supporting member edge to place saiddepending extension with its outer face against said supporting member,said hanger support including a lower hanger support element extendinglaterally outwardly and obliquely downwardly and mounted for pivotalmovement about a laterally outwardly and obliquely downwardly extendingaxis for firm resting engagement with a nonhorizontal supporting memberedge.